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18 Tips to Rock Any Conference

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18 Tips to Rock Any Conference

  1. Drink in Moderation. At adult conferences drinking is as much a part of the social business as the social business. Most people start drinking by early afternoon and don’t stop until late night. If you are trying to do some business make sure to drink a lot of water between the alcohol. You are there for business and need to make sure you keep your head about you.
  2. Go to Bed. There are tons of parties.  I mean tons. Everyone has them and you will be invited. But you are there to do business. Though some business will happen at the parties, most will happen during the day.  So go to the parties, socialize with everyone and then make sure to get to bed at a reasonable time. You don’t have to stay at the party all night to make your social presence known.
  3. Collect Business Cards. Ask for them.  Get as many as you can. Do not try to remember who they are, and who they are with, and think that you’ll just look it up later. If someone does not offer their card, be sure to request one.  If they don’t have one, give them one of yours, or ask them to write their information on a scrap of paper or the back of another card.
  4. Give your card to everyone. Give it to every person you meet. You never know who might be a great connection for you.  Bring more cards than think you will need, and hand them out like candy!
  5. Call me! If someone wants you to send them information, or wishes to talk to you more in depth about something, ask them to email you later. Request that they mention what you are discussing in the subject line. It might feel awkward to do this, but they won’t mind.  Plus it gives them an easy intro to connect with you via email.
  6. Take Notes. When someone gives you their card, make notes of the conversation as soon as you’ve finished it. If the conversation is generic, then make a note of what the person looks like. This will refresh your memory when you follow-up with them later.
  7. Know your purpose. Are you there to meet people to help your business? Meet people who can help your career? Grow your network of connections? Get people familiar with you? Work on personal branding? Or generally be at the right place at the right time?Make sure you know why you are there, because that will affect how you meet people.  You always want to have your agenda first, otherwise you will not get the value out of the venue.
  8. Work your angle. Now that you have established why you are there, make sure that you are putting your agenda first in all conversations.  If you want to grow your social networking, get people’s twitters and tweet them from your phone. If you are pushing a product, start a conversation and make a segue to talk about the product.  Make sure that despite all the glitz and glam you always have your agenda at the forefront.
  9. Know your pitch. A lot of times when you are networking with people they will ask you why you are there and what you do.  Make sure you have a succinct response that answers their question and opens up the topic for conversation. End your pitch with a question that ropes them into further conversation.
  10. Have a plan. Know in advance whom you want to meet (directly or the type of people), which speakers you want to hear, and what tradeshow booths you want to visit.
  11. Set appointments in advance. If you know that there will be people that you would like to see, call or email a weeks in advance to schedule a time to meet up. Do not just plan to “run into them” because it might not happen. And then if it does, you might not actually be able to talk.
  12. Do not focus on meeting the celebrity speakers. While meeting famous authors, speakers, and other gurus is fun, you are one of hundreds who will come up to them and shove a card in their hands. Better to meet the other people going to their talks. You can make some great connections that way.
  13. Talk to the people sitting next to you. When you walk into a seminar, take the time before the presentation begins to say hello to the people seated around you. You are there to network and meet people, so just start off with a simple hello.
  14. Ask questions of people you meet. Never lead with your “elevator pitch”. People are more interested in themselves than they are in you, so ask them questions to help them get to talking.
  15. Put your technology away. Do not run to your phone, BlackBerry, or laptop at every break. When you are working on electronics you send the message that you are unapproachable because you are busy. Utilize the time on breaks to converse with others. If you need to get on your tech, plan some time away from everyone to do what you need to do.
  16. Do not automatically send a LinkedIn or Facebook request. So often people immediately send social networking link requests to people they just met. However, different people have different policies about whom they link with. If they believe in only connecting with those whom they have established relationships, you make it awkward if you send them a link too early (which they then ignore). Instead, when you send them a follow up email, offer your LinkedIn or Facebook and give them the option to follow you. Immediately following them on Twitter is okay, as Twitter does not require a mutual connection acceptance.
  17. Read their stuff. Many people are active bloggers, twitterers, authors, etc. If people are posting online, take a second to read their work, look at their tweets or check out their website. It is a great ice breaker when you send your follow up email.
  18. Introduce others. When you meet great people, make sure to introduce them to other great people. Be generous with your connections. Don’t worry about what you will get out of it, because your generosity might end up in some business.

 

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@ATTC – The Business Cards of Porn

ATCC LogoI first met the Adult Trading Card Company on Twitter. Like many of the people I meet, we become friends because we tweet back and forth. I liked their tweets and appreciated how engaged they were with their tweeps. At the Adult Expo I finally got a chance to meet the man behind the tweets.  It was like a long lost reunion. I saw their booth and said “ATC” they said, “Yes”. I said, “I’m 7 Veils” and then we slow motion ran towards one another and embraced. Ok, that last part didn’t really happen like that, but we were both really excited to finally meet each other.

Since then we have continued to tweet.  As a girl who use to collect baseball cards and get the players autographs, I love trading cards. These are great cards. They are an excellent way to promote your image and make it as easy as a business card to pass around.  I am going to be using the ATCC trading cards for many of my Feature Friday Photos!

 

Mariah Chase ATCC card

Friday Feature Photo: The voluptuous Mariah Chase featured on her ATCC trading card.

JP Berkman started the ATCC in 2010, after seeing talent hit the convention circuit selling 8x10s that were a waste of money for the fans and performers—they cost the performers too much money and once the fan got them home, they would realize (whether married or single) that the 8×10’s would end up in a box in the garage or the trash. Out of this, ATCC™ was born—it all started with female performers like Lizz Tayler, Tara Lynn Foxx, Sophie Dee, Aurora Snow, Debi Diamond, Mary Carey and many more who were ordering cards from him and selling them at conventions and signings and on their websites. The trading cards are collectable and are small enough to carry around in your back pocket or wallet. What makes these cards truly unique are the girls’ stats and fun facts on the back—you really get to learn about the girls. In 2011, ATCC™ is branching out into a new market with their retail cards featuring a wide variety of the top names and brightest newcomers that will soon be hitting Adult stores, magazines stands and comic book stores—pretty much everywhere! These are the trading cards your mother warned you about and you will want to be on our team. Soon, Adult Trading Card Company™ cards will be the industry standard and replace 8x10s…forever.

 

ATCC has changed the trading card and Adult business in less than a year. JP Berkman started the company in 2010 and sold the cards directly to the talent. The girls sold the cards at conventions, on their sites and at signings. In 2011, he is rolling out a retail line of cards. Thirty girls will be part of the pack, but over 100 girls have been photographed. The names of the 30 girls won’t be revealed until the cards street—but, there will be something for everyone and more than one girl to love. The pack will feature five random cards and a sample of Wet Lube (one of the sponsors). Some of the packs will have a card personally signed by one of the 30 girls—and we’re pretty sure guys (and girls) will be buying multiple packs. The retail packs are set to make their premiere in July and the anticipation is growing. Look for ATCC at a local convention in the future—JP  will have some of the girls in the packs signing. With a thriving wholesale and soon to be a retail company, JP Berkman is on top of his game and has a product that is quickly becoming the industry standard. You heard it here first.

For more information, visit the ATCC website,  www.adulttradingcardcompany.com and follow JP’s adventures on Twitter at @ATCCompany.

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Following up from Xbiz

Sexy teacher showing tops of her garters, retro pencil drawn image

Today's Lesson: Follow up! Follow up! Follow Up!

We last talked about the business card strategy to help you remember who you have met. Now it is time to hit the follow-up. This may be the most important part of your conference experience.  A good follow-up can actually be more important than a good first impression.

At conferences you meet hundreds of people.  It is likely that a good first impression will get you the next conversation; when you reconnect, will the person really remember that first impression? Chances are they won’t – at least not in any great detail.  Your follow-up needs to be strong, because this is the impression that lasts.

When you get done with Xbiz, email every person you received a business card from within 4 days.  Give people a day after the conference to get their bearings and take care of business – but don’t wait too long. People have short memories; strike while the iron is hot and take that initial connection and try to turn it into something more.

You might ask, what about those who I don’t think will be beneficial? Maybe they are not in your industry, or they don’t have services that you find useful, but that doesn’t matter. You need to connect with everyone. You never know who will be a good connection. Maybe they know someone you want to meet; perhaps they will give you a referral some day.  It does not cost you anything to send them an email that says “Hi! It was great meeting you.”

When you send the email try to reference something from your conversation. Remember those notes you made? They are going to come in handy right about now.  If you can even remember a tidbit of the conversation, by mentioning it you are telling the person that you were invested enough in the conversation to pay attention to what was talked about. They will appreciate the reminder, which will serve to jog their memory.  It also opens up an opportunity to continue the conversation you started, and develop a potentially beneficial connection.

The biggest difference I notice between people who are successful and people who are trying to become successful is how they operate their business. It sounds so simple, but successful people take care of the little things, like following up on business cards.  This not only makes you seem professional but it also puts you out there as someone who is driven and dedicated.  Be that person.

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